98% do not buy Tesla's FSD after trying it for a month

[DeaneG]

98 Percent Of Tesla Owners Who Try 'Full Self-Driving' Demo Never Actually Buy It

Apparently, they're not impressed with FSD enough to justify paying $8,000 to keep it.

jalopnik.com

 

[Halodde]

Interesting but not surprising as this is exactly what I did with DDP. On the positive side, from what I remember of basic economics, the price for a good or service is not set by the people who buy it. It's set by the ones who do not buy. In this case, the people who *don't buy* FSD or DDP even after the price drops are telling the manufacturers that the systems are not quite there yet to justify the extra cost. It's good to see that message getting back to them so that they will continue to improve the offerings (Tesla, Lucid, and anyone else with ADAS goals).

 

[DeaneG]

I did buy FSD early on for $2K when it briefly went on sale - it came with a hardware upgrade (faster CPU) so seemed that it might be worthwhile. It wasn't - during my four year ownership of the car, FSD was "completely rewritten" at least twice but didn't progress very far in reliability.

 

[borski]

Interesting but not surprising as this is exactly what I did with DDP. On the positive side, from what I remember of basic economics, the price for a good or service is not set by the people who buy it. It's set by the ones who do not buy. In this case, the people who *don't buy* FSD or DDP even after the price drops are telling the manufacturers that the systems are not quite there yet to justify the extra cost. It's good to see that message getting back to them so that they will continue to improve the offerings (Tesla, Lucid, and anyone else with ADAS goals).

While that’s true, it’s interesting in that it supports the claim that FSD is simply not that amazing yet, as opposed to what every Teslastan wants you to believe.

 

[Steveinarizona]

Interesting but not surprising as this is exactly what I did with DDP

But at least Lucid responded with the "premium" alternative upgrade which provided the initial features (360 cameras and lane change) that most people wanted.

It would have been nice if these were included in the base package. It sometimes seems like auto manufacturers sometimes deliberately leave out a feature from base packages to "force" buyers into pricier packages that have many features that the buyer doesn't want/care about. On the other hand, one has Porsche which instead has individual options...what appear to be thousands of them (okay some hyperbole). Finding an appropriate and fair middle ground is not easy.

 

[Tim-in-CA]

I did buy FSD early on for $2K when it briefly went on sale - it came with a hardware upgrade (faster CPU) so seemed that it might be worthwhile. It wasn't - during my four year ownership of the car, FSD was "completely rewritten" at least twice but didn't progress very far in reliability.

Exactly the same for me. I had a $500 credit on my acct, so FSD was $1500 for me. I also found that it was never really reliable on surface streets for auto steer and performed some very scary maneuvers on PERFECT roads (so Cal). Highway was pretty much where it excelled. When it came time to sell it, I was really not given any credit for having FSD enabled in the vehicle. It still baffles me that there has not been some lawyers that have started a class action lawsuit due to the completely misleading Elon videos of FSD's performance.

 

[Batteryman]

Exactly the same for me. I had a $500 credit on my acct, so FSD was $1500 for me. I also found that it was never really reliable on surface streets for auto steer and performed some very scary maneuvers on PERFECT roads (so Cal). Highway was pretty much where it excelled. When it came time to sell it, I was really not given any credit for having FSD enabled in the vehicle. It still baffles me that there has not been some lawyers that have started a class action lawsuit due to the completely misleading Elon videos of FSD's performance.

When I heard of phantom braking and hitting emergency vehicles, I lost all interest in FSD, even if Tesla says it’s fixed or Robotaxi is finally here, I will never trust it.

 

[scal_air]

I have a couple of friends that got a trial of FSD recently and they LOVED it - much improved over the previous version. But interestingly, not enough thar they would buy it.

 

[Tesla2.0]

I have a couple of friends that got a trial of FSD recently and they LOVED it - much improved over the previous version. But interestingly, not enough thar they would buy it.

That AI driving fever period seems to lost tail wind.

 

[Snafu]

When I heard of phantom braking and hitting emergency vehicles, I lost all interest in FSD, even if Tesla says it’s fixed or Robotaxi is finally here, I will never trust it.

Phantom Braking was also a big problem with the basic Autopilot function on my Model Y. I subscribed to FSD for one month back in 2021 during which I took a 2K road trip. It worked pretty well on the highway overall (when passing, it would change lanes and then change back), but I never really trusted it - and phantom braking was still an issue. I canceled my subscription once I returned home and sold the car a couple months later.

 

[Batteryman]

Why do people think using just cameras for FSD is safe? I’m glad Lucid doesn’t cut corners like Tesla…I’m NEVER using FSD in a Tesla, even if Musk says he has solved Robotaxi because I won’t put my life in his hands

Tesla FSD Keeps Trying To Drive Into A Speeding Train: Video

Dashcam footage caught the Tesla Model 3 driving head-on into a closed level crossing as a train was passing through.

jalopnik.com

 

[Steveinarizona]

Phantom Braking was also a big problem with the basic Autopilot function on my Model Y. I subscribed to FSD for one month back in 2021 during which I took a 2K road trip. It worked pretty well on the highway overall (when passing, it would change lanes and then change back), but I never really trusted it - and phantom braking was still an issue. I canceled my subscription once I returned home and sold the car a couple months later.

I frankly don't get the desire for autopilot. Adaptive cruise control works fine. When I can't or won't want to change lanes by myself, I think it is time to give up driving. The Lucid is a driver's car, Drive it and enjoy it!

 

[Alex]

Why do people think using just cameras for FSD is safe? I’m glad Lucid doesn’t cut corners like Tesla…I’m NEVER using FSD in a Tesla, even if Musk says he has solved Robotaxi because I won’t put my life in his hands

Not to get into a heated Lucid vs Tesla debate, but from experience, Lucid's "no cutting corners" tactic, by providing both Radar and LIDAR has unfortunately not been well executed. The biggest case in point is that Dream Drive still does not recognize stopped vehicles most of the time. Tesla's latest vision only system (FSD-Supervised) is able to properly recognize stopped vehicles.

 

[borski]

Not to get into a heated Lucid vs Tesla debate, but from experience, Lucid's "no cutting corners" tactic, by providing both Radar and LIDAR has unfortunately not been well executed. The biggest case in point is that Dream Drive still does not recognize stopped vehicles most of the time. Tesla's latest vision only system (FSD-Supervised) is able to properly recognize stopped vehicles.

I think my main contention is that Lucid never said it would recognize stopped vehicles… yet.

Tesla has said it will for ages. I’m glad it finally works, but I’m no longer keen to trust it. I have found that when Lucid says something works as related to DD Pro, it generally… works.

The only issue I had was the fiasco when they added center lane biasing and it would ping pong briefly, but that seems more like a growing pain they fixed rather than a “fatal error”

 

[scal_air]

What do you mean Dream Drive doesn't recognize stopped vehicles? Adaptive cruise and highway assist will bring your car to a halt if there is a stopped car in front of you...

 

[Alex]

What do you mean Dream Drive doesn't recognize stopped vehicles? Adaptive cruise and highway assist will bring your car to a halt if there is a stopped car in front of you...

I guess that’s a sarcastic comment!

 

[no gas]

Not to get into a heated Lucid vs Tesla debate, but from experience, Lucid's "no cutting corners" tactic, by providing both Radar and LIDAR has unfortunately not been well executed. The biggest case in point is that Dream Drive still does not recognize stopped vehicles most of the time. Tesla's latest vision only system (FSD-Supervised) is able to properly recognize stopped vehicles.

LIDAR provides redundancy. Tesla has gotten rid of ultrasound sensors and doesn’t use Lidar. Two reasons- cost cutting and adding a 2nd or 3rd redundancy makes programming more difficult. It’s easier for Tesla to improve FSD with just cameras, with the caveat that there is no redundancy and it doesn’t work all the time , bad weather, darkness etc. It will be unsafe to use.

It will at least appease the Tesla fanboys and investors by showing progress , though Robotaxi will not be achievable to the level of safety that is acceptable.

 

[borski]

What do you mean Dream Drive doesn't recognize stopped vehicles? Adaptive cruise and highway assist will bring your car to a halt if there is a stopped car in front of you...

I agreed with you in the past. It turns out it will stop if a car is stopping, even if it’s moving extremely slowly. Apparently if it’s literally a parked car or object, it doesn’t do that as well.

 

[Tim-in-CA]

I agreed with you in the past. It turns out it will stop if a car is stopping, even if it’s moving extremely slowly. Apparently if it’s literally a parked car or object, it doesn’t do that as well.

This is my experience as well.

 

[joec]

Correct. It will detect a car that is slowing down to a stop within range of you. It will not detect a car that has already stopped. Big difference.

As @borski pointed out, Lucid never claimed HA could do this. In fact, they warn you it can’t.

But the hardware is there. Just not the software yet.